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Do you find your EKI's hold an edge as long as your other knives ?
- Thread starter chipdouglas
- Start date
My CQC-15 Just arrived a couple of hours ago, from Tom Krein. He reprofiled the blade, got rid of the tanto angle, and did a partial swedge. Again, my photography skills lack, somewhat.
I like the CQC-15, and it's a great knife as it comes from Emerson. I think this reprofile more matches what I'd have preferred to get from the factory.
It may be my imagination, but I think the knife is a lot smoother after coming back from Mr. Krein.
I like the CQC-15, and it's a great knife as it comes from Emerson. I think this reprofile more matches what I'd have preferred to get from the factory.
It may be my imagination, but I think the knife is a lot smoother after coming back from Mr. Krein.
This last one represents a half-swedge and regrind on a Commander. The thread addresses the edge on Emerson knives; I've had very good success with the edge on my Emersons, and the Krein regrinds wasn't intended to correct a deficiency in the Emerson edge. I think the Emerson edge works just fine. I think this regrind makes the knife a little more versatile for daily use.
I had a convex edge put on one of my mini-commanders by a gentleman in Texas at a Cabellos. He did it on a belt-machine, and it was done in moments...but held it's edge for the entire time I had the knife...up until it disappeared in Iraq last year. It was my favorite, and I had zero trouble with that edge. Hopefully the Krein edge will continue to hold up as well, if not better. Time will tell.
I had a convex edge put on one of my mini-commanders by a gentleman in Texas at a Cabellos. He did it on a belt-machine, and it was done in moments...but held it's edge for the entire time I had the knife...up until it disappeared in Iraq last year. It was my favorite, and I had zero trouble with that edge. Hopefully the Krein edge will continue to hold up as well, if not better. Time will tell.
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2009
- Messages
- 991
Not to bash Emerson, or anything like that, but all the Emerson knives I've had did lose sharpness fairly quickly. Then again, all the 154CM Benchmades that I've had didn't hold an edge too long neither... That's why EKIs are "tactical" knives, rather than EDC knives.
I, personally, don't sell out on "tactical" knives anymore. There are plenty of none tactical knives out there that cut better, hold a better edge, with better fit and finish and overall design, while also priced way lower than Emerson Knives or some other "tactical" choices out there.
Again, nothing against Emerson, just sharing my honest thoughts after experiencing quite a few knives and models produced by these guys.
I, personally, don't sell out on "tactical" knives anymore. There are plenty of none tactical knives out there that cut better, hold a better edge, with better fit and finish and overall design, while also priced way lower than Emerson Knives or some other "tactical" choices out there.
Again, nothing against Emerson, just sharing my honest thoughts after experiencing quite a few knives and models produced by these guys.
I use Emerson as everyday carry knives. I have other knives which work well for that purpose, too. My favorite is a Chris Reeve Sebenza...but frankly, it's too expensive to carry daily, and too nice to ruin with utility use.
I generally carry a couple of pocket knives: an Emerson, and a spyderco military or paramilitary. Both get used a lot. I've got a wall of one gun safe covered in knives, including a number of Emersons; many used, some not used at all, some used on a regular basis and maintained for that purpose. I've honestly never had an issue with the edge on those knives, save or a couple of used ones that arrived in the mail with rolled edges or otherwise in need of some help.
I don't ascribe to the popular "tactical" or "tacticool" rubbish. It's a knife. Much like a firearm, it's not anything until someone picks it up and uses it. If one uses it strategically, then I suppose it's a strategic knife. If one uses it tactically, then I suppose it's a tactical knife. In the end, it's just a knife...not a tactical knife, not a strategic knife...it's just a knife And a pocket knife at that.
Any time a knife needs to be used defensively (or offensively, for that matter), the environment has deteriorated to a rather dire situation. One is in bad shape if one has fallen back to depending on one's pocket knife. Having been there, however, for both defense and for other needs, I recognize the wisdom of carrying a dependable tool in one's pocket. I have a long background as a mechanic, and came to recognize long ago the advantage of buying good tools.
My first Emerson was a mini-commander, and I knew as soon as I inspected it out of the box that it was a keeper, and would be with me a long time. Not too many knives strike me that way, but the Emerson products have, as have a few of the Spyderco products. Neither are high dollar custom knives, and neither one are particularly pretty...they're working knives for common folk like myself. I don't expect the knife to stay sharp forever; that's what maintenance is for. I've not noticed that the Emerson knives dull any faster than any other, all else being equal, but I have noticed that when kept sharp, they work extremely effectively.
My sole complaint wouldn't be the sharpness or lack thereof, but rather the nature of the grind...which as described above has been tackled for now. This really comes down to a function of one's intended use of the knife. In my case, I find myself slicing more often than I do using it defensively, though I do want a knife that can fill that role without hesitation. The regrinds seem to fill that need.
I generally carry a couple of pocket knives: an Emerson, and a spyderco military or paramilitary. Both get used a lot. I've got a wall of one gun safe covered in knives, including a number of Emersons; many used, some not used at all, some used on a regular basis and maintained for that purpose. I've honestly never had an issue with the edge on those knives, save or a couple of used ones that arrived in the mail with rolled edges or otherwise in need of some help.
I don't ascribe to the popular "tactical" or "tacticool" rubbish. It's a knife. Much like a firearm, it's not anything until someone picks it up and uses it. If one uses it strategically, then I suppose it's a strategic knife. If one uses it tactically, then I suppose it's a tactical knife. In the end, it's just a knife...not a tactical knife, not a strategic knife...it's just a knife And a pocket knife at that.
Any time a knife needs to be used defensively (or offensively, for that matter), the environment has deteriorated to a rather dire situation. One is in bad shape if one has fallen back to depending on one's pocket knife. Having been there, however, for both defense and for other needs, I recognize the wisdom of carrying a dependable tool in one's pocket. I have a long background as a mechanic, and came to recognize long ago the advantage of buying good tools.
My first Emerson was a mini-commander, and I knew as soon as I inspected it out of the box that it was a keeper, and would be with me a long time. Not too many knives strike me that way, but the Emerson products have, as have a few of the Spyderco products. Neither are high dollar custom knives, and neither one are particularly pretty...they're working knives for common folk like myself. I don't expect the knife to stay sharp forever; that's what maintenance is for. I've not noticed that the Emerson knives dull any faster than any other, all else being equal, but I have noticed that when kept sharp, they work extremely effectively.
My sole complaint wouldn't be the sharpness or lack thereof, but rather the nature of the grind...which as described above has been tackled for now. This really comes down to a function of one's intended use of the knife. In my case, I find myself slicing more often than I do using it defensively, though I do want a knife that can fill that role without hesitation. The regrinds seem to fill that need.
My CQC-15 Just arrived a couple of hours ago, from Tom Krein. He reprofiled the blade, got rid of the tanto angle, and did a partial swedge. Again, my photography skills lack, somewhat.
I like the CQC-15, and it's a great knife as it comes from Emerson. I think this reprofile more matches what I'd have preferred to get from the factory.
It may be my imagination, but I think the knife is a lot smoother after coming back from Mr. Krein.
I really like what he done with your knife!! Would you mind me asking what he charges to do a blade regrind like the one on your 15?
I don't recall on the charge exactly...about thirty bucks or so. Very inexpensive, I thought. Shipping was an extra few dollars, ten or so. He charges a lot less than one would think. I had a couple done this last time, and I think the total charges, including shipping, came to about eighty dollars.
I know that Mr. Emerson has a clear, strong preference for serrated knives, and I understand his reasoning for saying so. I also know he has a reason for producing his knives with the grind that they have. I don't have the time or means to sharpen serrations. If they're never used for anything but sitting in one's pocket, waiting for a defensive moment, then so be it. They'll stay sharp forever. But in daily use, they won't, and returning them to the factory sharpness is much more difficult than a plain edge.
The Krein grind plain edge makes maintenance simple. It may weaken the blade a little, in that some material is removed because it's a grind. I can't say. It was a concern of mine with the first knife I had done, but when I received it back from Krein, I didn't feel concerned. It's not razor thin, and much of the thickness of the blade overall is retained.
Trying to maintain a sharp serrated edge in Iraq was frustrating. I had access to sharpening materials from the PX, which were limited. I didn't have a Krein edge there, but a regular Emerson factory edge. These are simple enough to maintain with a plain edge, but not with the serrations...especially with limited sharpening materials available. My solution was to keep the serrated edges for one purpose only, and use the plain edge knives for daily use.
Krein's work is nice cosmetically in a utilitarian way. The swedges probably don't serve a lot of practical value, but look okay. I was happy with the work he did. the full length swedge I wasn't expecting; he did that on his own, and it came out fine. On the CQC-15, Mr. Krein told me it would be difficult to do a grind with the same angles as the factory knife, but that he'd had some success reprofiling the blade a little, to take out the tanto angle. I didn't really want the tanto angle,and told him to do as he pleased. What you see in the pictures (poor as the pictures are) is the result.
I think I'd have liked a little more recurve (I like recurve), but I'm quite happy with the blade the way it turned out. That said, I'll probably buy another CQC-15 or mini-CQC-15 and keep the factory edge, as well. It never hurts to have more.
I know that Mr. Emerson has a clear, strong preference for serrated knives, and I understand his reasoning for saying so. I also know he has a reason for producing his knives with the grind that they have. I don't have the time or means to sharpen serrations. If they're never used for anything but sitting in one's pocket, waiting for a defensive moment, then so be it. They'll stay sharp forever. But in daily use, they won't, and returning them to the factory sharpness is much more difficult than a plain edge.
The Krein grind plain edge makes maintenance simple. It may weaken the blade a little, in that some material is removed because it's a grind. I can't say. It was a concern of mine with the first knife I had done, but when I received it back from Krein, I didn't feel concerned. It's not razor thin, and much of the thickness of the blade overall is retained.
Trying to maintain a sharp serrated edge in Iraq was frustrating. I had access to sharpening materials from the PX, which were limited. I didn't have a Krein edge there, but a regular Emerson factory edge. These are simple enough to maintain with a plain edge, but not with the serrations...especially with limited sharpening materials available. My solution was to keep the serrated edges for one purpose only, and use the plain edge knives for daily use.
Krein's work is nice cosmetically in a utilitarian way. The swedges probably don't serve a lot of practical value, but look okay. I was happy with the work he did. the full length swedge I wasn't expecting; he did that on his own, and it came out fine. On the CQC-15, Mr. Krein told me it would be difficult to do a grind with the same angles as the factory knife, but that he'd had some success reprofiling the blade a little, to take out the tanto angle. I didn't really want the tanto angle,and told him to do as he pleased. What you see in the pictures (poor as the pictures are) is the result.
I think I'd have liked a little more recurve (I like recurve), but I'm quite happy with the blade the way it turned out. That said, I'll probably buy another CQC-15 or mini-CQC-15 and keep the factory edge, as well. It never hurts to have more.
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- Nov 9, 2009
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- 44,314
Depends on what you are using to get an edge back. Some sharpening tools do a much better job than others.
its hasnt been that long ago that 154 was the new "super steel" everybody talked about, i've always liked it myself, would i like some options on some of 'em? sure, M2, D2, S30V,etc
that would be cool, that said i have always been happy with the edge retention on my emersons, and they are fairly easy to sharpen too, i guess my M2's might be better than the emerson 154 in that regard but they are a LOT more difficult to sharpen too, imho all things considered 154CM is pretty good.
that would be cool, that said i have always been happy with the edge retention on my emersons, and they are fairly easy to sharpen too, i guess my M2's might be better than the emerson 154 in that regard but they are a LOT more difficult to sharpen too, imho all things considered 154CM is pretty good.